What is your hygienist looking for while doing your gingival exam?

• Color- Your gums should be a pale pink
• Texture- healthy gums are firm and resilient, some even have a stippled appearance.
• Probing depths- your gum wraps around your tooth like a turtle neck. Your hygienist measures between the gum and the tooth with a blunt ended instrument. Healthy gums have a 1-3mm pocket depth.
• Bleeding on Probing- bleeding gums is a sign of gingival inflammation
• Presence of plaque/ calculus- plaque is composed of soft bacteria that can be brushed and flossed off the teeth. If the plaque isn’t brushed away daily it hardens and turns into calculus and must be removed at your dental cleaning!We will review home care instructions with parents and children, as well as review good dietary habits. Kids should be brushing 2x a day, ideally with an electric toothbrush and kid's fluoride toothpaste. It is recommended kids begin flossing once they have teeth that touch one another. 

It is good practice to start your child at the dentist early, so they can get comfortable in the dentist's chair. It is also important to be established with a dentist in case your child has a dental emergency, such as falling and hitting a tooth. Development of a child's dentition and jaw growth is also very important to be monitored at an early age. In some cases, developmental issues can be detected and treated early to prevent possible jaw surgery or complex and lengthy orthodontic treatment.

At Lakeland Dental Professionals, we see kids ages 2 and up for your initial exam. Some children may not be suited for a general dentist's office, and may be referred to a pediatric dentist if necessary. Call us today to schedule your child's first exam!